Nasdaq, Inc. reported financial results for the third quarter of 2020.
Third quarter 2020 net revenues were $715 million, an increase of $83 million, or 13%, from $632 million in the prior year period. Net revenues reflected a $41 million positive impact from organic growth in the non-trading segments, a $29 million positive impact from organic growth in the Market Services segment, a $4 million increase from the inclusion of revenues from acquisitions and a $9 million increase from the impact of favorable changes in foreign exchange rates.
“Our third quarter results highlight the strength of Nasdaq’s diversified product offerings and business model, capitalizing on opportunities presented by 2020’s capital markets backdrop, including elevated trading volumes, rising index valuations and robust IPO issuance, while also continuing to execute against the secular opportunities arising from our clients’ evolving longer-term needs,” said Adena Friedman, President and CEO, Nasdaq. “Nasdaq’s resilience and agility to adjust to the unique operating environment presented by COVID-19 is not only demonstrated in our current results, but also in the team’s continued focus on advancing Nasdaq as a technology and analytics provider, including our recently announced expansion of our Reg-Tech offerings into anti-money laundering.”
GAAP operating expenses were $389 million in the third quarter of 2020, a decrease of $17 million from $406 million in the third quarter of 2019. The decrease primarily reflects lower general, administrative and other costs and lower restructuring charges, partially offset by higher compensation and benefits expense and professional fees.
Non-GAAP operating expenses were $346 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $29 million, or 9%, compared to the third quarter of 2019. This reflects a $17 million organic increase primarily due to higher compensation and benefits expense, a $7 million increase from the impact of acquisitions as well as a $5 million increase from the impact of unfavorable changes in foreign exchange rates.
“Nasdaq continues to be well positioned from an operational and capital perspective despite the uncertainties and challenges presented by COVID-19, as reflected by the resilient and strong performance of our businesses and the reduction of net leverage over the course of 2020,” said Michael Ptasznik, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Nasdaq. “In turn, we continue to execute on our capital plan, including investing in infrastructure, deploying capital in attractive long term opportunities as well as delivering on our dividend growth and share repurchase objectives through the return of $425 million to shareholders during the first nine months of 2020.”
On a GAAP basis, net income in the third quarter of 2020 was $264 million, or diluted EPS of $1.58, compared to $150 million, or $0.90 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2019.
On a non-GAAP basis, net income in the third quarter of 2020 was $256 million, or $1.53 per diluted share, compared to $212 million, or $1.27 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2019.
At September 30, 2020, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $584 million and total debt of $3,571 million, resulting in net debt of $2,987 million. This compares to total debt of $3,387 million and net debt of $3,055 million at December 31, 2019. As of September 30, 2020, there was $446 million remaining under the board authorized share repurchase program.
UPDATING 2020 NON-GAAP EXPENSE AND TAX GUIDANCE4
The company is updating its 2020 non-GAAP operating expense guidance to a range of $1,360 to $1,370 million, with the change primarily reflecting unfavorable changes in foreign exchange rates. Nasdaq expects its 2020 non-GAAP tax rate to be in the range of 26% to 27%.
BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS
Market Services – Net revenues were $259 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $33 million, or 15%, compared to the third quarter of 2019.
Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing – Net revenues were $84 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $9 million from the third quarter of 2019. The increase reflects higher U.S. industry trading volumes, partially offset by a lower U.S. net capture rate and lower overall U.S. matched market share.
Cash Equity Trading – Net revenues were $85 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $22 million from the third quarter of 2019. The increase primarily reflects higher U.S. and European industry trading volumes and a higher U.S. net capture rate, partially offset by lower overall U.S. matched market share.
Fixed Income and Commodities Trading and Clearing – Net revenues were $14 million in the third quarter of 2020, down $2 million from the third quarter of 2019. The decrease was driven by lower U.S. fixed income volumes and the sale of the core assets of our NFX business.
Trade Management Services – Revenues were $76 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $4 million from the third quarter of 2019, primarily due to increased demand for connectivity services.
Corporate Services – Revenues were $132 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $8 million, or 6%, compared to the third quarter of 2019.
Listing Services – Revenues were $79 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $5 million from the third quarter of 2019. The increase was primarily driven by higher U.S. listing revenues due to an increase in the overall number of listed companies and a strong IPO market.
Corporate Solutions – Revenues were $53 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $3 million from the third quarter of 2019, due to increases in both governance solutions revenues and IR intelligence revenues.
Information Services – Revenues were $238 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $40 million, or 20%, compared to the third quarter of 2019.
Market Data – Revenues were $107 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $5 million from the third quarter of 2019, with organic growth in U.S. proprietary products from new sales, including continued expansion geographically, and an increase in shared tape plan revenues.
Index – Revenues were $86 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $30 million, or 54%, from the third quarter of 2019. The increase was primarily driven by higher licensing revenues from higher average assets under management (AUM) in exchange traded products (ETPs) linked to Nasdaq indexes, higher licensing revenues from futures trading linked to the Nasdaq-100 Index and higher index data revenues.
Investment Data & Analytics – Revenues were $45 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $5 million from the third quarter of 2019, primarily due to the acquisition of Solovis and growth in eVestment.
Market Technology – Revenues were $86 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of $2 million, or 2%, compared to the third quarter of 2019. The increase is primarily due to higher SaaS surveillance revenues and a favorable impact from changes in foreign exchange rates, partially offset by lower software delivery and support revenues and lower change request and advisory revenues. Annualized recurring revenue5, or ARR, totaled $278 million in the third quarter of 2020, an increase of 9% year over year.
CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS
ABOUT NASDAQ
Nasdaq is a global technology company serving the capital markets and other industries. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software and services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on Twitter @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.
MEDIA RELATIONS CONTACT: Allan Schoenberg +1.212.231.5534 allan.schoenberg@nasdaq.com |
INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT: Ed Ditmire, CFA +1.212.401.8737 ed.ditmire@nasdaq.com |